30 March, 2010

Ambient Boy


Just for the fun of it, I thought it would be good to share this picture that a friend showed me.

Actually, to be sure, EVERYTHING that has been translated into English is wrong, in some way or other.
I could start being critical and slamming every line according to syntactic failure, lexico-grammatical errors, and whatever have you. But, I think I should be nicer.



Anyway, I'll only speak my mind about "ambient boy" in the last line.

I mean, what in the world is an ambient boy?!?!?!
I know Moulin Rouge popularized Eden Ahbez's "Nature Boy", but what is an "ambient boy"?

Some definitions of "Ambient":
Adj
1. Of or relating to the immediate surroundings of something. (New American Oxford Dictionary)
2. Existing or present around you. (Macmillan Dictionary)


So, Hmm... how does this fit in with "boy"? I still have no idea. It's really hard to second-guess these creative Chinglish translators.


Since I know the Chinese words, and considering the entire sentential meaning, what the title of the piece really means is:

"A Youthful Determination Without Any Anxiety"

Still, to be really lyrical (considering this is the title of a song), I'd go for the following title, which I think, adequately captures all the ideas of the Chinese words:

"The Freedom of Youth"


Do you feel more ambient now?

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